Dear Daisy Dog

I love my Labrador retrievers, and I want them to live forever. I heard about Resvantage, a supplement that is supposed to prevent cancer and help dogs live longer, healthier lives. What do you think of it?

Daisy Responds

I wouldn’t take it, because I’m a dog, not a guinea pig or lab rat.

And I don’t want to be used like one, testing every unproven “wonder drug” that comes along.

Resvantage contains resveratrol, a chemical found in grapes, wine and peanuts. The company that markets Resvantage boasts that it prolongs life by preventing many diseases that accompany aging, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Yet there is no evidence that Resvantage is effective in dogs for any of these claims –- or even that it is safe.

In April, a major pharmaceutical company shut down a human clinical study after encountering an unacceptably high incidence of kidney damage in patients taking resveratrol.

While Resvantage carries a seal of approval from the National Canine Cancer Foundation, the designation doesn’t mean much, because the seal of approval can be granted to nearly any product, even a drug or supplement that hasn’t been tested in dogs.

So unless you want to use your Labs as lab test subjects, stay away from products that haven’t been adequately evaluated.